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P142 — AIEP — Global Evidence Mirror Network Protocol

Publication Date: 2026-03-16 Status: Open Source Prior Art Disclosure Licence: Apache License 2.0 Author/Organisation: Phatfella Ltd Schema: AIEP_OS_SPEC_TEMPLATE v1.0.1 — https://aiep.dev/schemas/aiep-os-spec-template/v1.0.1

Framework Context

[0001] This disclosure operates within an Architected Instruction and Evidence Protocol (AIEP) environment as defined in United Kingdom patent application number GB2519711.2, filed 20 November 2025, and GB2519803.7, filed 20 November 2025, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure extends the mirror generation mechanisms defined in P133 (Distributed Evidence Index Protocol) and P134 (Autonomous Mirror Generation Protocol) to a federated network layer in which multiple independent mirror nodes collectively maintain resilient, redundant, and geographically distributed replicas of evidence artefacts, governed by a shared MirrorRegistry and enforced RedundancyPolicy.

Field of the Disclosure

[0003] This disclosure relates to distributed network protocols for federated evidence mirror infrastructure in governed artificial intelligence reasoning systems.

[0004] More particularly, the disclosure concerns a protocol under which AIEP nodes collectively operate as mirror hosts, publish their mirror holdings to a shared MirrorRegistry, enforce network-level redundancy policies specifying minimum mirror count and geographic distribution, detect content drift when source documents change, and enable cross-node discovery of mirror replicas for any given evidence artefact.

Background

[0005] The Autonomous Mirror Generation Protocol (P134) defines how a single AIEP-governed system creates and registers a MirrorRecord for a specific evidence source. This resolves the single-node retention problem but does not address network-level resilience: if the node hosting a mirror becomes unavailable, the mirror is inaccessible.

[0006] Evidence artefacts used in governed reasoning chains must remain accessible for replay and audit operations potentially years after the original reasoning event. A single-node mirror provides no availability guarantee across this timescale. A distributed mirror network — in which multiple independent nodes hold replicas of the same artefact — provides the availability guarantee required for long-term reasoning auditability.

[0007] No existing protocol defines: a normative MirrorNode schema for network participants; a MirrorRegistry format enabling cross-node discovery; a RedundancyPolicy schema specifying network-enforced minimum replica counts and geographic distribution rules; or a DriftRecord schema for tracking changes to source content after initial mirroring.

Summary of the Disclosure

[0008] A MirrorNode represents a network participant operating mirror storage infrastructure, comprising: node_id derived as the SHA-256 hash of the organisation’s canonical name and node registration timestamp; public_key in JWK ECDSA-P256 format; mirror_storage_capacity in bytes; jurisdiction as an ISO 3166 code; and federation_permissions as a schema-defined bitmask of allowed federation operations (PUBLISH, RECEIVE, REPLICATE).

[0009] A MirrorRegistryRecord is published to the network for each mirrored artefact comprising: source_url; mirror_nodes as an ordered list of node_ids holding replicas; mirror_urls as the corresponding storage URLs; content_hash; and latest_timestamp identifying the most recently verified replica. The MirrorRegistry is a distributed data structure: each participating node maintains a local partition and synchronises registry entries with peers.

[0010] A RedundancyPolicy is defined at the network level comprising: min_mirror_count specifying the minimum number of independent nodes required to hold a replica before an artefact is considered network-stable; regional_distribution specifying the required geographic spread of replicas across ISO 3166 regions; and node_trust_threshold specifying the minimum trust score required for a node to count towards redundancy targets.

[0011] Mirror Replication is triggered when a MirrorRegistryRecord shows fewer replicas than the min_mirror_count or insufficient regional_distribution. The network broadcasts a ReplicationRequest to nodes with available capacity and appropriate jurisdiction. Accepting nodes retrieve the mirror content from an existing replica, verify the content hash, and publish an updated MirrorRegistryRecord.

[0012] Mirror Verification is a periodic process in which each node retrieving a mirror recomputes SHA-256 over the stored content body and compares it against the stored content_hash. A VerificationRecord is appended to the node’s local evidence log comprising: mirror_id; verification_timestamp; verification_result as PASS or FAIL; and, if FAIL, the computed hash and stored hash.

[0013] Evidence Drift Detection monitors source documents for changes after initial mirroring. A DriftRecord is produced when the source is re-retrieved and its SHA-256 hash differs from the stored content_hash, comprising: source_url; previous_hash; new_hash; drift_timestamp; and drift_classification from the enumeration {content_update, source_removed, domain_change, redirect_detected}. On drift detection, the previous mirror is preserved as a historical version; a new MirrorRecord and MirrorRegistryRecord are generated for the updated content.

[0014] Cross-Node Discovery enables any AIEP-governed system to locate a mirror for a given source_url by querying the distributed MirrorRegistry. A DiscoveryQuery specifies: source_url; optional domain_category filter; optional jurisdiction preference; and minimum node_trust_threshold. The registry returns an ordered list of eligible mirror_urls ranked by node_trust_threshold.

Technical Effect

[0015] Network-enforced redundancy policies — specifying minimum replica counts and geographic distribution — provide an availability guarantee for evidence artefacts across the timescale required for reasoning chain replay and regulatory audit, without requiring any single node to be permanently available.

[0016] Evidence drift detection with historical version preservation — retaining the previous mirror when source content changes — ensures that reasoning chains referencing the pre-drift content hash remain auditable even after the source is updated or removed.

[0017] Distributed MirrorRegistry with per-node partition hosting — rather than a central registry — eliminates single points of failure in mirror discovery, ensuring that the unavailability of any registry partition does not prevent cross-node mirror discovery via other partitions.

[0018] Open publication of the MirrorNode schema, MirrorRegistry format, RedundancyPolicy, and DriftRecord as prior art prevents third parties from claiming proprietary rights over the distributed evidence mirror network layer, enabling any AIEP-governed deployment to participate in the shared network.

Claims

A global evidence mirror network protocol for governed AI reasoning systems, the protocol comprising: a MirrorNode schema including a derived node identifier, an ECDSA P-256 public key, storage capacity, jurisdiction, and federation permissions; a MirrorRegistryRecord associating a source URL with an ordered list of mirror nodes and URLs, a content hash, and a latest verification timestamp; and a network-enforced RedundancyPolicy specifying a minimum replica count, required geographic distribution, and a node trust threshold for replica eligibility.
The protocol of claim 1, wherein mirror replication is triggered by a MirrorRegistryRecord showing fewer replicas than the min_mirror_count or insufficient regional_distribution, causing the network to broadcast a ReplicationRequest, with accepting nodes verifying the content hash against the stored value before publishing an updated MirrorRegistryRecord.
The protocol of claim 1, wherein periodic mirror verification recomputes SHA-256 over stored mirror content and produces a VerificationRecord identifying the mirror identifier, verification timestamp, result, and any hash mismatch; and wherein VerificationRecord failures cause the affected replica to be removed from the MirrorRegistryRecord’s eligible replica list.
The protocol of claim 1, wherein evidence drift detection produces a DriftRecord when re-retrieval of the source produces a hash differing from the stored content hash, the DriftRecord identifying the previous hash, new hash, timestamp, and drift classification; and wherein the previous mirror is retained as a historical version, enabling reasoning chains referencing the pre-drift hash to remain auditable.
The protocol of claim 1, wherein cross-node mirror discovery accepts a DiscoveryQuery specifying a source URL, optional domain category and jurisdiction preferences, and a minimum node trust threshold, and returns an ordered list of eligible mirror URLs ranked by node trust score.

Brief Description of the Drawing

FIG. 1 — Mirror network topology: MirrorNode participants, MirrorRegistry partitions, ReplicationRequest broadcast, and geographic distribution enforcement.

FIG. 2 — Evidence drift detection flow: source re-retrieval → hash comparison → DriftRecord creation → historical version preservation → new MirrorRecord generation.

Abstract

A global evidence mirror network protocol defines MirrorNode participants with ECDSA-P256 identity and jurisdiction attributes, a distributed MirrorRegistry associating source URLs with replica lists and content hashes, and a network-level RedundancyPolicy specifying minimum replica counts and geographic distribution rules. Mirror replication is triggered when a registry entry falls below redundancy targets. Periodic mirror verification produces VerificationRecords; failures remove affected replicas from eligible lists. Evidence drift detection produces DriftRecords when source content changes, preserving historical mirrors for reasoning chain auditability. Cross-node discovery queries the distributed registry by source URL, jurisdiction, and trust threshold.

Licence

Apache License 2.0 — https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0